Repition and Empathy

The other day I was reading a fun article about pet ownership and the challenges of teaching one's pet to do tricks like playing dead, rolling over or sitting still. When it comes to communicating with one's pet, the author suggested the best way to proceed is to communicate often and with empathy. This struck me as a great summation of how public relations at its most effective works: often and with empathy. Public relations is all about relationships, establishing them and then maintaining them. How does one do that? (In raising that basic question, I am not referring to the actual strategies but rather the mindset one takes into applying those strategies.)

People, generally, are busy. Additionally, each day they contend with a great many distractions and messages from a great many sources. Consequently, it is not always easy to communicate a specific message that will truly resonate with them in a way that triggers action or a changing of one's mind. A big way to break through the multiple messages from multiple sources is summed up in the word: repetition. Many studies have shown that often people need to hear a message more than once before it truly sinks in. This is why in advertisements, for example, key elements in the overall message are repeated.

But that is not just true in advertisements. Repetition is also a vital element in other forms of communication such as speeches and even one-on-one conversations. Repeating key information is necessary in order to break-through the competition of all those other messages. And then there is the matter of empathy - trying to look at things from the audience's perspective. Not always easy but so important if one is to communicate a particular message effectively. Empathy speaks to the challenge of communicating a message in a way that best speaks to an audience's  concerns, questions or interests. If one can come even close to devising messages that creatively repeat key points and do so in a way to which the audience can relate, then they are well on their way to becoming a most effective communicator.